Silence
by FicletMistress
Summary: Leon had seen Cloud in his quiet brooding phases without ever understanding them. But when his day takes a turn for the worst, he learns how appealing silence can be, and how the smallest gestures can mean the most.


**I'm sure we've all had days like this. I sure did, considering this was produced. xD I wrote this ages ago, but never bothered to put it up. This is the last of the Cleon that wasn't shoved into a margin in a notebook.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing pertaining to Kingdom Hearts.**

-o-

There are days when you just don't want to say anything. You feel so rotten that you grit your teeth and refuse to open your mouth, regardless of what is said to you.

Leon hated those days when Cloud slipped into absolute silence. The blond would still perform his duties, but to get a nod of acknowledgement was all but impossible. When he had time to relax, Cloud would either disappear for the rest of the day or sit in his chair in the living room, not moving, not speaking, just staring off into space, brooding.

It was disconcerting to Leon to see the blond quieter than his usual brooding self. He fought the silence, attempting to engage Cloud in awkward small talk, (something he himself was horrible at), or asking for opinions on the reports he wrote up every evening. The only response he ever received was the minutest release of tension from Cloud's shoulders whenever Leon shooed Yuffie away from his workspace. Leon finally gave up on the matter all together.

One day, however, Leon woke up with a feeling of foreboding. With a crick in his neck where he had slept on it strangely, he went on with his day, only to discover how accurate that intuition had been.

The town's security system glitched, resulting in the Restoration Committee spending two hours battling heartless in its place just after sunrise. A large group of kids, all inspired by their efforts to restore the world to its former glory, had to be rescued from the ruined regions of Radiant Garden, where the finally-repaired security system couldn't reach.

Just when Leon thought his morning couldn't get any worse, he sat down to enjoy a long-overdue cup of coffee only to find that Yuffie had broken his mug and hid the shards oh so cleverly behind the coffee pot.

Something in Leon's stomach clenched. He stood, ignoring the young girl's pleas for forgiveness and Aerith's promise to have Merlin fix the mug as soon as possible, and left to begin his patrol early. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Cloud, who seemed to be in one of his silent spells, rise up out of his brooding chair to join him. The two fell into step with no question or explanation offered, only mutual nods of acknowledgement.

They walked the streets in an oddly comfortable silence. Most people felt the need to fill a silence, but Leon felt no awkwardness in the quiet between the two warriors. Had his mood been any less rotten, he would have called the silence companionable.

Shouts of laughter rose from a side street, at which Leon grit his teeth. The voices, which grew steadily closer, were recognizable as the pack of teenagers that they had found earlier that morning, and from the sound of it, they had gathered more "troops" to fight the heartless. He and Cloud would be surrounded and interrogated in mere seconds if they were seen.

Cloud suddenly disappeared down an alley in the direction of the voices, and Leon stared after him in shock. Who would want to be hounded by such brats?

Cloud continued, though, and paused at the edge of the alley, watching the pack of teens. Then, just as casually as anyone whose sanity was in jeopardy, he swung his foot forward with considerable force.

A moment later there was a resounding crash as something slammed into a trashcan out of sight. Cloud returned with a glint of satisfaction in his eye and the sound of retreating shouts behind him.

The rest of their patrol passed without any further interruptions, though Leon suspected Cloud had something to do with the modifications the blond made to their path. They returned home with the brunet in a slightly better mood, even if he was no more willing to speak than he was before he left. Perhaps he could borrow someone else's mug for coffee and just sit for a while...

"Leon! Leon I'm still sorry!"

And there went his improved mood. Leon scowled, his temper immediately flaring, and was just about to turn on his heel to leave again when something caught him by surprise.

"Yuffie."

Yuffie looked as shocked as Leon felt.

Cloud ignored their stares and continued. "I dropped one of my gloves somewhere when we were patrolling." He held up a single glove as proof. "However, I have reports to do..."

"I'll go look for it!" Yuffie filled in, still looking amazed that the blond had spoken an entire sentence. "I'll find it in no time!" she exclaimed before she bolted out the door.

Cloud sighed and dropped his gear on the floor once the girl's footsteps could no longer be heard. "Well, I told her I was going to help you with the reports, so I guess I'm obligated now." With a hint of a grin, Cloud pulled something out of his pocket and let it fall on his other belongings before moving to sit at the table.

Upon further investigation, Leon recognized the object as the second glove, which, when he though about it, he never remembered Cloud dropping in the first place. Cloud had never taken them off during their patrol.

"Hey, come help me. I never do these, so I have no idea how to fill out these reports." Cloud nudged the chair next to him with his foot as he read over one of Leon's previous records.

Leon sat, but continued to stare at Cloud.

The blond glanced up from the papers, his amused expression seeming to say _'Just because I don't talk doesn't mean I'm incapable of it.'_ "Quit looking at me like I'm speaking merman. We need to finish these before Yuffie figures it out."

A small smile finally graced Leon's face. It was hardly noticeable, but to one who smiled in a similar manner, it was clear as day. Leon dropped his eyes to the report, and opened his mouth to mutter a silent "thank you."

The door suddenly opened again and Aerith poked her head in, having returned from shopping. Smiles vanished and Aerith saw only two men with their attention turned to the work at hand. With a nod of understanding, she carried her purchases to the kitchen without as much as a hello, not wanting to disturb them.

Out of the corner of his eye, Leon saw the faint smile return to Cloud's face. Without looking up, Cloud muttered, "You're welcome."

That night, Leon discovered his mug in one piece on his pillow. Next to it lay a note with familiar scrawl.

_-Don't send Merlin so far away next time Yuffie has the potential to break something.-_

-o-

"**And that's the moral of the story, right there. XD" - Mitsuru Aki**

**I hope Leon and Cloud weren't too chatty for you all. Please review, and thank you for reading!**


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